[Free] Secunia PSI - Personal Software Inspector v3.0

The new Secunia PSI 3.0 speaks your language28th June 2012

quote:Back in February this year, we announced the launch of the Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) 3.0 Beta as part of Secunias mission to make all PCs globally safe against increasing vulnerabilities. We also invited you, our community, and all private users to test drive the new version.

Its been a fantastic and interesting journey! Since then, during the three rounds of testing, thousands of users have downloaded the Secunia PSI 3.0 Beta and have test-driven the new enhancements. I would like to sincerely thank you all for your honest and constructive feedback. It has helped us to shape the solution into the final version that I am exceptionally proud to launch today.

So how did we get here? You may recall that we started on this journey to make the process of updating insecure software as effortless and efficient as possible for all users  from techies through to family members/friends/colleagues who may not be as technically proficient, yet need to protect their software, systems, and personal information just the same. As cybercriminals are constantly trying devious new tactics, someone needs to look out for PC users.

With the general release of the Secunia PSI 3.0 today, I feel that we have found the perfect balance and fusion of features that will appeal to everyone.

Therefore, the top new features, based on your input and our mission, include:

Localisation: As a truly personal touch and to make life even easier for you, the Secunia PSI 3.0 is available in five different languages: English, French, German, Spanish, and Danish.

Simplified user interface: A streamlined and de-cluttered dashboard presents the most important scan information that you need to know  the software security status of your installed programs and when they are up-to-date.

Automated patching: This unique function removes the hassle of manually sourcing and implementing patches. It can be set to run in the background to automatically scan and update programs while you get on with your other day-to-day tasks.

Enhancements to existing features: Because we want to simplify the patching process even further and cater to all types of users, we have also revised and enhanced some of the underlying features which will make handling vulnerabilities easier than ever before (integration with the Secunia Corporate Software Inspector (CSI), event log, and ignore rules, etc.).

I have mixed feelings about the new interface. Where are the statistics that compare your system with others? Is there an option to change the large icons to something more informative like a details listing?

I was unable to get past "LOADING" even though I installed, uninstalled, installed, uninstalled, and installed again. Running XP SP3 with 2GB RAM, disabling antivirus did not help. No errors shown in any of the logs in administrative tools. I give up. I'll just use the OSI since version 2 of Secunia PSI is not available now. I will not bother trying this on any other system for fear of a similar problem.--It is easier for a camel to put on a bikini than an old man to thread a needle.

I was unable to get past "LOADING" even though I installed, uninstalled, installed, uninstalled, and installed again. Running XP SP3 with 2GB RAM, disabling antivirus did not help. No errors shown in any of the logs in administrative tools. I give up. I'll just use the OSI since version 2 of Secunia PSI is not available now. I will not bother trying this on any other system for fear of a similar problem.

I had a similar problem at first. The "loading" message is misleading. What it is actually doing the first time you run it is "scanning." This can take many, many minutes before it completes. Meanwhile the GUI does not display any information or activity making the user think the program stuck.

That could be the issue, and I have since gotten to the place where I have three Win 7 Pro 64-bit systems that I monitor. I put version 3 on a Toshiba i3 laptop with 4GB RAM. It took a little while to load but was fine and, as expected, all software was up to date. No problem there. I may try the XP system again, but I expect it will have to run overnight for the scan to complete based on what happened earlier. I still think there is a possibility of a hidden conflict. In any case, I will probably put the new version on the other two Win 7 systems, but uncheck load at boot and update automatically. I'll choose the update time and I don't want the software using up memory all the time, even a small amount.

Oh, the laptop had all 60 programs up to date, about half the number in the post above.

--It is easier for a camel to put on a bikini than an old man to thread a needle.

Secunia's email re: v. 3 arrived today, peeked at the PSI page, then looked at their YouTube video, and thought, "Ugh..." Looks nice and simple for the masses, but for me, way too simplified. I'll stick to version 2 for myself, but may put v. 3 on PCs of some family members for a test drive, but it's not going on mine.

I think I am going to reinstall version 2 on my XP system. The new version seems to install and run nicely on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit systems. I installed it on two of them and it was on them. I will probably install it on one more, but I will not put it on the XP system at that location because that system is a dedicated X-Ray workstation unit and I don't want any version of the PSI on that. I have to be careful about altering any of the critical drivers on that system.

As for my own XP system, the new version starts but it really does hang at the opening splash screen with no disk activity for more than an hour. That is not normal and it is not scanning anything at that point. There must be a conflict of some kind, but nothing shows up in any of the logs and the system is not locked up, either. I can exit the screen and all other software is working. Anyway, I will just reinstall version 2 and forget about it. I know that version was working.

Reinstalled version 2 and no problem with that version. I still don't know why version 3 won't get past the loading page, but that's just the way it is.

One thing I noticed when using Revo Uninstaller to remove Secunia PSI 3.0 was that a notice popped up that grpconv.exe would no longer autostart. However, I think that is an artifact of using Revo Uninstaller. I don't know why installing Secunia PSI 3.0 would also call up grpconv.exe since that is related to Win 3.1 methods of installing application groups. Is Secunia still using those old methods, perhaps for compatibility?--It is easier for a camel to put on a bikini than an old man to thread a needle.

I have successfully enabled Securnia PSI 3.0 on my XP system. I finally determined what the conflict was, but there were no log entries or warnings to indicate it. It turns out that Eset NOD32 Antivirus with HIPS (that would be version 5.0 and up) will block the SSL certificate for Secunia PSI 3.0 silently and without any indication if you have SSL scanning set to "always" in NOD32. For anyone who is using NOD32 (current versions), and who want to run Secunia PSI 3.0, I can tell you how to make it work, but don't want to waste the time of those who don't run Eset NOD32. PM me if you wish, or go to the Wilders forum for Eset NOD32:

Oh, and I add that I have Secunia PSI 3.0 set so that it will not load at boot or automatically update on my own system. I want to do all that sort of checking manually. I can report that all 124 applications on my system are up to date, according to the PSI.

--It is easier for a camel to put on a bikini than an old man to thread a needle.

Yep, if SSL scanning is disabled, you won't have any problems with the PSI. I have been fiddling with SSL scanning and thought I knew the issues, but it seems that there will be new issues every morning, sort of like blessings, I guess.--It is easier for a camel to put on a bikini than an old man to thread a needle.

• a list view will be added in the upcoming version, that will be released in the end of July.• the version information in the right-click > help, will be corrected.• some users have had some performance issues with PSI 3, which our development team is working on fixing as well.• the coming PSI release will also provide a link to the relevant Secunia Advisory.

Re: [Free] Secunia PSI - Personal Software Inspector 3.0.0.3001

Secunia PSI 3.0.0.3001 - July 26, 2012

quote:...we have released a PSI 3.0 maintenance build that fixes a number of issues and introduces a few new features (the full change log is available at »secunia.com/products/consumer/PS ··· sys_req/ and I have copy-pasted it below as well for your convenience).

Based on your inputs, we have added a detailed (list) view, including criticality ratings as well as the number of installed programs, and you can also get direct access to the Secunia Advisories on the Secunia website (right-click a vulnerable program for 'More information').

I hope you will like it. Please let us know what you think.Morten StengaardSecunia

This is a minor maintenance release. The primary changes are:• Detailed view: The user can decide whether to view the list of programs as a detailed view or an icon view• Criticality: The detailed view now includes criticality ratings for programs that need updating• Number of installations: The detailed view shows the number of installed program versions• More information: Right-clicking a program that is not up-to-date now provides a link to more information (the Secunia Advisory on the Secunia website)• Add notification to install Microsoft Update if it is not installed• Bug with "long scan time for initial scan" has been fixed• Language selection when upgrading between major versions has been fixed• Ignore rules created in PSI2 are now ignored after upgrade (since the way ignored updates are handled has changed)• Manual downloads for updates to 64-bit programs don't try to download the 32-bit versions• Warning about unknown variable has been fixed• Updates to translations of non-English versions of the PSI• Correct notice about trusted sites to point to psi3.secunia.com• Various minor bug fixes

Re: [Free] Secunia PSI - Personal Software Inspector v3.0

Secunia have updated their PSI to v3.0.0.4001 (2012.09.28), described as a "minor maintenance release;" the changes listed are:

- Support for Secunia CSI 6.x integration- Norwegian language support- Added option to select not to download updates automatically but only be notified about them and then decide which to download and install- Minor bug fixes

Though the PSI v3.0 is well suited for those who desire a minimum of interaction for the maintenance of their rigs (as well as the technically challenged), v2.0 will remain the version of choice for technicians and those who prefer to delve under the hood. Fortunately, Secunia continue to make previous versions available (»secunia.com/products/consumer/PS ··· sys_req/).